Mark Waite, Pahrump Valley Yimes
BEATTY --There will be one less set of blinking red lights to greet motorists on Highway 95.
Angel's
Ladies Brothel, which billed itself as the "friendliest brothel in
Nevada," closed at the end of September. The new owner doesn't have
plans to reopen it as a brothel, said Assistant Sheriff Johanna Cody.
County planners and law enforcement officials aren't sure what the new owner intends to do with the property.
The brothel had been owned by Jonathan King, who let the quarterly license expire Sept. 30, Cody said.
Former owner Mack Moore, who sold the property in September 2005, had talked about reacquiring the brothel, Cody said.
"When
we explained to him he had to go through all the procedures again, with
an audited financial statement, he thought about it for a while but
then submitted a letter withdrawing his application," Cody said.
King had a partner at one time, Joshua Gottesman, Cody said.
It's
the second, small, rural brothel to close along Highway 95 within the
last five years. The Cottontail Ranch at Lida Junction in Esmeralda
County, closed about four years ago and hasn't reopened. Before that,
Bobby's Buckeye Bar in Tonopah closed in the early 1990s, then couldn't
reopen due to zoning regulations.
Blinking red
lights from the brothels were a fixture along Highway 95 at one time
and were about the only businesses on the highway between Beatty and
Goldfield. The closure of Angel's Ladies means there won't be any
operating brothels on Highway 95 between Lathrop Wells and Mina, in
Mineral County.
"In a way I hate to see it happen,
because the money they did generate went into county health and
welfare. But if you can't make payroll there's no sense in staying
open," Cody said.
Angel's Ladies submitted the standard $1,875 quarterly payment, Cody said.
The brothel didn't have a bar, which could have affected business, Cody said, but it could also create problems for a brothel.
Bobbi
Davis, manager of the Shady Lady Ranch, 20 miles north, said business
tightened up when the price of gas went up. But customers have started
coming in when the brothels were allowed to start advertising last
summer, she said.
Davis was a plaintiff in the
case requesting the right to advertise, citing the numerous escort
services that already hand out fliers and advertise in Las Vegas.
"It's
a tough business. I think it's going to be easier now we're getting a
few more people who didn't know we were here," Davis said. "It's not
going to be a panacea for everything, but it's going to help.
"The
small ones are slowly dying out. We're doing okay (but) the only ones
that are doing all right are the big houses. I managed to hang on for
15 years. I think I could manage to hang on a little longer."
Angels
Ladies Brothel, with 48 acres, was put up for sale for $1.8 million in
2004. The brothel had boasted a warm spring in the back at a constant
84 degrees. Moore had suggested the property would be ideal for a truck
stop with over 400 feet of frontage on Highway 95.
Moore, now 79 and living in Las Vegas, was unavailable for comment.
source: http://www.nevadacoalition.org/content/view/25/3/